Next stop to visit friends in Wapiti, Wyoming

The Grand Tetons...

Grand Tetons....

We made it to Andy and Sharon's(former cruising friends from the boat "It's Good") home, in the middle of no where, right outside of Yellow Stone National Park. We are standing in their driveway.

Andy and Sharon's home is off the grid. Just like living on the boat. Water and energy conservation is needed. But we should all do this all the time everyday and everywhere. This was just a good reminder of how valuable our resources are!

Here's their 425 gallon water jug they take to town in thier truck. Then haul it back to fill their 1000 gallon cistern.

Here's the generator they use to charge batteries to store energy for electricity. Similar to living on a boat!

The views were just incredible!

Wide open spaces that just went on and on with very few homes in sight... Snow capped mountains can be seen in the distance all around us.

Our morning coffee with peace and tranquility...

I love grilled veggies!

Morning walk in their back yard(many acres) to see what we could find....

Some poor guy's remains. We saw a many of these.

Tons of cute little wild flowers scattered among the sage brush.

Randall and Andy just never stopped chatting. Two pilots in a pod!

Time to pack it all up again.

Here's the Map of the days trip from Montpelier, Idaho to Wapiti, Wyoming. We traveled from 10:30am to 5pm. The drive also took us through Yellow Stone. We stayed at Andy and Sharon's for about a week and made 2 more trips through Yellow Stone - just breathtaking views and wild animals everywhere!

Up, up we go...

As we headed north of the Grand Canyon, we enjoyed the remnants of it's beauty along the way north.

As spacious as the Grand Canyon was, my habitat for the trip seemed to be dwindling. No more room for the feet. Some food, some glasses, a couple of maps, books and ?.....

Long, long day again. At 9am we left the Grand Canyon and arrived in Montpelier, Idaho at 9:30pm.

Our map from Grand Canyon to Montpelier, Idaho.

GRAND Canyon....

After saying our good byes the night before, we left the Sheraton in Tucson Arizona at 8:30am on June 24th. Next stop, the GRAND CANYON! Arriving there at 3:30 pm, we had just enough time to settle into our lodge, the Yavapai lodge, and see some of the canyon at sunset and again the next day.

We knew the Grand Canyon would be over priced in terms of food to provision or restaurants to dine, so we planned ahead and bought food several miles before we entered the park. Our cooler was packed with huge steaks, some canned beans, and side salads along with a bottle of wine and beer. We were counting on finding some kind of picnic area or campsite where we could prepare our feast. Thank goodness the park store sold disposable grills. Perfect ending to another day of travel and adventure! We savored our feast during sunset in the park.

Check out our MAP from Tucson Arizona to Grand Canyon National Park.

Tuscon Arizon here we come!

After leaving Hermosillo Mexico, we were stopped at a security check point(not the border yet!). We had to completely unload the trunk and put it through the scanner. Thank goodness they didn't ask us to unload the luggage rack on top!

No problems here at the border on the Mexican side. Just drove on through!

Glad we weren't in that line. In fact, there was no waiting for us.

Doesn't look like much of a border to me...

Finally, after several years since our boating days, Virgina and I are reunited in Tuscon, Arizona. She's my beading mentor!

Randi entertained everyone with her awesome music!

Larry took the picture so unfortunately he is missing.

The kids and Randall spent the day at the air museum while Virginia and I spent the day chatting and beading. Virginia's work is spectacular! I hope to be as good some day.

On June 22 we traveled from 8:45am to 1:30pm arriving in Tucson, Arizona. We stayed at the Sheraton.

Here's the MAP of Hermosillo to Tucson, Arizona

Onward to San Carlos and beyond

Stop for coffee at this cafe or not?

Our map is hanging on the windshield, the GPS. We named her Jill. Every time we ventured off the course we planned, she "recalculated" and drove us NUTS! Shut up Jill was the joke. We thought we'd stay in San Carlos, Mexico but it was late and the rates were high. Not enough time to enjoy it. So, onward we went to Hermosillo, Mexico.

Okay, I've had enough driving and sitting.... And everything did become a blur at times!

Uneventful day and finally found a hotel, San Sebastian. Just a never ending day from 10:30am to about 10pm. And then, we ate!


Here's the map from Mazatlan to Hermosillo

June 20th, First stop Mazatlan, Mexico

On the road again, just can't wait to get back on the road again...

Left at 9am from Puerto Vallarta and arrived here at 4pm in Mazatlan, Mexico at this fabulous hotel!

Emporio Hotel

I sat admiring the views from the beach.

The locals played, partied and surfed until sunset.

Siting here at this enchanting beach was the best way to end the first day of travel with many more to come.

To see the path we traveled today, here is our MAP

Goodbye Puerto Vallarta...

She even wore her mask during the SWINE FLU scare. We'll miss all the quirky things that made us laugh or wonder as we say good bye for now...

Our last feast in Puerto Vallarta at Joe Jacks Fish Shack the night before departure day. The packing is done for now.
Randall promised to say goodbye to his favorite old beat up sneakers that he sewed many times. Like I tell the kids, if you think you'll miss something that much, take a picture! Goodbye sneakers.
The rain season did arrive before we left. It was awesome to watch the sky dump buckets in just seconds! Goodbye rain...
One last glimpse of the Conchas Chinas beach during Sunday brunch just days before departure. Goodbye beaches....
We'll miss new friends and old, golds gym, the beaches, the food, the shopping, the people, the climate, the laughter but know that soon we'll be back again! We're thinking this fall... Goodbye Puerto Vallarta.